Beyond the Home Business – Dressing For Success

While you have a home business that might see you cut off from the outside world most of the time, there will be occasions when you either have to meet colleagues or present yourself on video.

It’s at these times that striking the right note with what you where is essential and it’s with this in mind that I would like to share some tips for how men can dress for success.

First of all some ground work.

There are some foundational things about how you present yourself that we should address before we get into the details.

Always have clean and clipped nails! Long nails on a man aren’t attractive, keep them short.

Spend money on your hair. You could dress shabbily but if your hair is well styled it can make all the difference.

Clean, well heeled shoes are mandatory. Never wear beaten up trainers. If you have them at home, throw them out. Trainers are for training in, not for wearing to the shops. And also make sure that, like your nails, your shoes are always clean!

Invest in dental hygiene. Notice I said ‘Invest’? Having good teeth and clean breath can close deals and bad teeth and bad breath can break them. Simple.

Dressing for success doesn’t always mean wearing a suit. I have met men that look a billion dollars who are simply wearing baggy linens. The late and great Pavaroti springs to mind. When he met the Princess of Wales, he was wearing linen trousers and a lovely linen top with a pashmina around his neck and shoulders. And this look is fantastic for large men.

Of course we all come in different shapes and sizes and there are an infinite number of variations as to how we can best dress, but allow me to share some basic sartorial rules for dressing well and attracting followers for your business.

Formal wear: Tailored suits are a must. Once you buy a tailored suit you will never go back to suits of the off-the-peg variety. A tailored suit will give even an over weight man the silhouette of James Bond. So make a pact with yourself to only wear tailored suits.

Shoes: A worn heel is a big deal. When people see that your shoes are past their best it either means that you can’t afford a decent pair – in which case business must be bad, or you’re attention to detail is lacking, in which case your business might not be run very well.

Be careful. Check your shoes and make sure that they’re beyond reproach

Ties: Mickey mouse ties belong in Disneyland. My rule of thumb is ‘Plain and Bold’. Stripes are a no no. Floral is confusing. Just choose plain bold colours. Red is a great tie color because it means action. Polka dots are also very nice and look both formal and friendly.

Belts: OK here’s the law. Your belt should be real leather and the same color as your shoes.

Shirts: I don’t know why there are formal shirts in colours other than white. You may fancy a change and perhaps buy a canary yellow shirt. But remember you’re in business. Forget about variation in this area. White always wins. Hands down.

Casual wear.

A fatal mistake of many aspiring millionaires is that while they dress well at the office, their casual wear is inappropriate.

The best way to dress whether casual or formally is to ask yourself, would a millionaire dress like this? If we dress today how we want to look tomorrow we are positioning ourselves to attract the thing we want. A bit like a dress rehearsal for success.

So ripped jeans, busted up trainers and T-shirts with juvenile prints on them have to go.

Remember that, even while you’re out at the grocers, you’re being watched by people. And one of those people could be your key to millions. So dress carefully when away from the office.

My clothing of choice when not dressed formally looks something like this.

White Shirt

Plain V-neck jumper

Dark Velvet Blazer

Slim jeans

Brown leather shoes.

Wearing clothes like this means that you need never be ashamed to meet a key prospect while out for a stroll.

The social nature of the internet means that, more than ever, the public are connecting with who we are. So we need to ensure that when they get to meet us, our appearance lives up to expectation.